Spoiler alert: Eco Feminism is for everyone – people of all genders, races, sexual orientations, and ethnicities.
Hobgood-Oster that Eco feminism “asserts that all forms of oppression are connected and that structures of oppression must be addressed in their totality” and that “Oppression of the natural world and of women by patriarchal power structures must be examined together or neither can be confronted fully”. In other words, Eco Feminism is meant to address and dismantle all forms of oppression and that if one area of oppression is not confronted, then other forms of oppression will not be able to be fully eradicated either.
Ecofeminism is not just the idea of women’s empowerment and women’s liberation, but rather it is that, and also the empowerment and liberation of all those who suffer from racism, sexism, naturism, classism, and heterosexism. Hobgood-Oster asserts that all of these issues of oppression are all intertwined. The very heart of ecofeminism can be seen in this image:
Here, you can see that there are individuals of all races and genders coming together. The term ‘intersectional feminism’ I think is a great way to define what eco feminism is! Intersectional is another term meaning the inclusion of those who would be more than often left out of mainstream, cookie cutter feminism such as the disabled, PoC, and trans women.
If reading books bores, you can easily learn what eco feminism is by curling up on the couch and watching a movie! Moana (2016) was a breakthrough Disney film featuring not only a princess of color, but environmental issues as well. Jen Yamato of The Daily Beast describes the film more adequately than I could saying, “The film follows Moana … the daughter of a chief who’s always been told she’ll one day lead her people. Forbidden from venturing into the vast ocean that calls to her, she struggles to contain the yearning to go beyond her world. But when ecological decay starts devastating their only food sources and threatening the future of the island, she defies her father and leaves behind the safety of her home in order to save it from ruin” (Yamato). Yamato also notes that Moana could not have come at a better time, in the midst of the presidential election of Donald Trump. Let’s face it: us feminists NEEDED that empowerment. It is crucial especially for young girls to have a role model to look up to ESPECIALLY in a time where the leader of our country is openly and blatantly misogynistic in his views and the laws he (attempts to) establish…
Works Cited
Hobgood-Oster, Laura. Ecofeminism: Historic and International Evolution . 18 Aug. 2002.
Yamato, Jen. “The Revolutionary ‘Moana’: Disney’s Most Unapologetically Feminist Princess Yet.” The Daily Beast, The Daily Beast Company, 23 Nov. 2016, www.thedailybeast.com/the-revolutionary-moana-disneys-most-unapologetically-feminist-princess-yet.
FIRST!!!! I love that you mention Moana!!!!! However, I think Moana is a great representation of ecofeminism. I had to google search myself “ecofeminist Moana” and after some searching found there was PDF article on Researchgate.net. It is titled, Ecological Feminism Issues Depicted in Moana’s Screenplay by Jared Bush.
The pdf can be downloaded here if you would like to read it. >>> https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334801527_Ecological_Feminism_Issues_Depicted_in_Moana's_Screenplay_by_Jared_Bush
The article is based on qualitative research because the data is a monologue. First, it discusses the aspects of feminism and oppression. Then it details a brief overview of what eco-feminism is. The article describes eco-feminism as “a branch of feminism theory that examines the connection between woman and nature…” 1 Along with the connection of environmental damage and oppression of women, the article goes on to explain that “…woman is unconsciously “naturalized” and nature has been “feminized”… when nature is mined, dominated, and conquered by man… in other words can also be done to woman”.1
Next, it goes into details, scenes from the movie and analyzing it from an ecofeminist perspective. I think the article mentions some good points. The relationship between Moana and nature at a spiritual level, the patriarchal society, and male domination over nature, such as Maui stealing the heart of the island which in turn became a volcano and was causing problems for the rest of the islands.
Overall I thought you made a great connection with ecofeminism to Moana.
1. Ambarwa, Susi & Setiyawan, Radius & Ihsan, Pramudana. (2018). Ecological Feminism Issues Depicted in Moana’s Screenplay by Jared Bush. Tell : Teaching of English Language and Literature Journal. 6. 97. 10.30651/tell.v6i2.2137.